


His Secret Santa

by YouDontDrinkScotch



Category: Scrubs (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Humor, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouDontDrinkScotch/pseuds/YouDontDrinkScotch
Summary: For Christmas, Carla holds Sacred Heart’s annual Secret Santa, and, after drawing a name, Perry struggles to find the right gift for his recipient.
Relationships: Perry Cox/John "JD" Dorian
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	His Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> Because it just wouldn’t be Christmas without the fluffy Christmas fics.

“Dammit, Perry, just draw one!”

Leaning against the nurses’ station counter, Perry sighed. He looked up from the chart he was attempting to read previously and snapped his head to the side to face Carla.

She forcefully shoved a large bowl filled with little folded pieces of paper in front of Perry’s chest.

Perry eyed it with disdain and growled.

“I abso-lu- _hutly_ refuse to draw one of those god-forsaken names from that cursed bowl. For God’s sake, Carla, I could get someone like The _Todd_. Or hell, even _Bobbo_ , and do you know how difficult it would be to find a gift for him? I’m too old to go searching for the souls of the damned.”

Carla just rolled her eyes at him, obviously not up for his usual ranting antics.

“C’mon, Perry, it’s the hospital’s Secret Santa. We do this every year.”

Perry hated the hospital’s Secret Santa. He really did.

Opening his mouth to object, Perry was abruptly cut off by Carla.

“And besides,” Carla said, smirking suddenly, “I already put your name in there. That means you _have_ to participate.”

As Carla stared up at Perry with pure mischief in her eyes, Perry let out another weary sigh.

“Fine. But if I have to go and sell my soul to Satan for a present, you only have yourself to blame.”

Finally, Perry stuck his hand out to reach down into the bowl he had endless resentment for.

It wouldn’t be that bad, right? Even he happened to pull someone like The Todd, all Perry would have to do is go find some cheap mug with a dumb sex joke on it — or hell, even a calendar with scantily-clad buff men on it. The Todd would _love_ that.

Unfortunately for Perry, life just wasn’t that kind to him.

He gripped one of the folded up paper slips and pulled it out, unfolding it as he held it up so he could read it.

His eyebrows suddenly shot up to his hairline as his eyes scanned the name written on there.

_J.D._

“Oh, puh- _lease_ , Carla, you can’t make me do this. Can’t I draw again?!”

Carla shook her head, that same smirk residing on her face.

“No way, Perry. You’re stuck with whoever you got.”

When Perry tried to protest again, Carla just turned on her heels and marched away from him before he could launch into a malice-filled rant.

Perry stared after her, feeling lost.

Around him, the other doctors and nurses marched down the hallways. Some of them were sporting Christmas-themed scrubs, and some of the nurses were even wearing small reindeer-antler headbands. And as Perry glanced around, he took in the various garland and red and white streamers that hung from the ceiling.

Despite the holiday being described as the happiest time of the year, Perry could only say one thing.

“I hate Christmas,” he snarled to no one in particular.

**********

“Do you have to do that right here?”

From up on his place on the ladder, the Janitor glanced down at Perry’s growl.

“I’m just trying to be a little festive,” the Janitor said all-too-innocently, friendly smile on his face.

Perry narrowed his eyes at the other man as he rested his elbows on the reception desk, attempting to write something down on a patient’s chart.

He had been in a bad mood since yesterday — the day he drew J.D.’s name from the bowl. It was only being made worse by the Janitor.

The Janitor was hanging up some garland and ornaments from the ceiling, which would have been all fine and well if it wasn’t for the horrible _humming_ he dared to make.

“It’s sickening,” Perry snapped.

The Janitor just looked down at Perry again, taunting grin still on his face.

“Cheer up, Scrooge.”

Just then, an ornament “accidentally” fell from the Janitor’s grasp and onto Perry’s unsuspecting head. It bounced dully to the ground.

“Oops,” the Janitor snickered, stupid grin still plastered across his face.

Bending down to pick up the annoyingly-shiny orb from the ground, Perry contemplated throwing it into the Janitor’s face.

But just at that moment, as Perry’s arm was poised back and ready to strike, ornament in hand, the front doors to the hospital opened up, alerting him.

To Perry’s dismay — or delight, he honestly couldn’t tell with himself anymore — it was J.D..

As the younger doctor strolled in, hoodie wrapped tightly around himself, his ears, nose, and cheeks were all a rosy-shade of pink from the outside cold.

Watching him, Perry’s cheeks and ears began to burn a similar shade, but all for an entirely different reason than J.D.’s.

When J.D. spotted Perry, his face immediately lit up.

“Hey, Dr. Cox!” he greeted with great enthusiasm, practically bouncing over to Perry.

“Vixen, good morning,” Perry greeted back with a faux smile.

“Were you just outside?” J.D. suddenly asked innocently. “Your cheeks are all rosy.”

To his dismay, Perry just felt them grow redder.

“You know, Newbie, I find it just a _little_ discomforting that you find it totally appropriate to question me on things like the current state of my face,” Perry ranted, purposefully avoiding the answer to J.D’s question. “And _another thing_ , if I ever hear you describe my face as ‘rosy’ again I will have no choice but to use you to figure out if a person really can manage to squeeze down a chimney, nnnkay, Blitzen?”

Completely unfazed by Perry’s threats, J.D. just tilted his head, another question on his mind. His mouth was stretched into a mischievous grin.

“How do you know the names of Santa’s reindeer?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Comet, maybe it’s because you choose to chant and sing that stupid excuse for a song up and down these hallways like your life depends on it.”

J.D. frowned; he looked offended. To be honest, he sort of looked cute like that.

“I’m just getting this place into the holiday spirit!” he defended. “And everyone just so happens to think that I have very nice singing, thank _you._ ”

Perry rolled his eyes.

“You are such a girl.”

If Perry thought that J.D. was finished with defending his honor, he was so, so horribly wrong.

Just at that moment, J.D. decided to burst into song.

“ _Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it- Ow!_ ”

It was tragically cut short by Perry giving J.D. a pissed-off flick to the neck.

How Perry had managed to develop a crush on the little pest, he hadn’t even the slightest clue.

***********

“So have you gotten a present for whoever’s name you drew yet?”

J.D. was following Perry right by his side up and down the hospital hallways as Perry tried to work.

Honestly, it was like having an annoying, moussed-haired cat constantly weave underfoot.

Perry snorted.

“Like I’d share that information with you, Prancer.”

Several days had passed since Perry had drawn J.D’s name from the bowl, and he still had no clue what to get for his ridiculously feminine, self-appointed protégé.

Instead of receiving an annoyed huff, Perry was greeted by nothing but contemplative silence on J.D.’s end.

Finally, the younger doctor spoke when Perry glanced at him in curiosity.

“If all of Santa’s reindeer have antlers, doesn’t that mean they’re all male?”

Perry blinked in realization. He had to retaliate.

“Yes, but seeing as it’s that _wonderful_ time of the year, I thought the reindeer names would fit best, because even if they are males, they’re all still a bunch of bumbling, long-legged animals, which is basically exactly what you are. Plus, I still mean the names in a derogatory fashion.”

J.D. gave Perry a sideways glance.

“Festive,” he muttered.

“No, Cupid, what’s festive is me continuing to drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol during the holidays and being able to get away with it because I can just tell people I’m being festive,” Perry responded, throwing J.D. a wink as they both stopped at the nurses’ station.

J.D. couldn’t help but grin.

“So can you respond to my first question?” he asked as he leaned against the counter, sounding a little desperate.

“What was it again? I already forgot.”

J.D. frowned at Perry.

Perry just rolled his eyes.

“It’s not my fault you talk so much that I can’t remember anything through the babble.”

“You were the one who just went on some long rant about why you’re calling me reindeer names!”

“Well, you asked.”

J.D. frowned at Perry again.

“C’mon, Newbie,” Perry smirked, “don’t pout. The grumpy look clashes with your makeup.”

“Can’t you just answer the damn question?” J.D. sighed, exasperated at this point. “I asked you if you’ve gotten something for whoever’s name you drew yet.”

Damn it. Perry couldn’t avoid the question forever.

He honestly had no clue what to get J.D.. Did he want to go for one that so obviously showed off his huge, stupid crush, or one that tried to keep those probably inappropriate feelings hidden in the dark, away from the prying light of day?

“I, uhh... I’ve been working on it,” Perry responded eventually, eyes completely avoiding contact with J.D.’s.

“Well, unlike you, I’ve found a gift that I know my receiver will _love_ ,” J.D. responded, a prideful look taking over his previously annoyed one.

“Is it a date with you, something all the boys are just dying for, Dancer? Just know that if that _is_ the present you are, in fact, gifting to somebody, you should put on your best dress and highest heels; you’ve gotta make the gift worth it, Newbie.”

For that, Perry received a swat to the head with a patient chart.

***********

Perry watched with pure amusement from his place propped against the nurses’ station counter as Carla pulled the gift the Janitor had just given her out of its bag.

The day had finally arrived for Sacred Heart’s employees to give each other their gifts.

For Carla’s present, she had just pulled a taxidermy squirrel with a miniature Santa hat out of a gift bag.

There was clear disgust and revulsion on her features as she held the squirrel in front of her, face cringing back into her neck to keep the thing away from her.

“Do ya like it?” the Janitor asked her with the sheer giddiness of a child, eyes sparkling as if he had just given her the greatest present ever.

“It’s... so cute!” Carla lied in a slightly strangled voice. She wore an obviously pained smile.

“It’s from my own collection,” the Janitor informed her, acting like the conversation was the most normal thing in the world. “Make sure to give the little guy a good home.”

And with that, the Janitor was gone, leaving with a victorious skip in his step.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Perry burst into a barking laughter.

Carla shot him a nasty look.

“I gotta tell ya there, Carla,” Perry said through his chortling, a massive grin on his face, “that there squirrel just goes _perfect_ with the decor you’ve got going on back at your place.”

When Carla glanced down to look at the festive squirrel she held in her grasp with a glare that seemed to hold the dead creature responsible for all the wrong in the world, Turk came bounding down the hall towards them both.

The surgeon’s eyes immediately lit up when he saw the Santa-hat-clad squirrel.

“Oh my god, baby!” he proclaimed. “It’s a squirrel for Rowdy to chase!”

Carla just looked even more miserable when Perry broke into howling laughter again.

“So are you still sure that this Secret Santa thing really was a great idea after all?” Perry said breathlessly when his laughter began to die down. 

“Hey, I thought it would be fun!” Carla defended. “And why are you still so against it? You actually got a good gift, not some poor dead squirrel.”

“A dead squirrel with a _Santa hat,_ baby!” Turk cut in.

Carla just sighed.

Perry blinked at her sympathetically.

It was true, he had ended up with a gift he actually liked — something rare in this nut-case hospital.

He had ended up getting Turk as his gift-giver (although Perry could totally tell that Carla had picked the gift out for him for Turk to give) and Perry was quite content with the bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch that he had received. 

“I’m more so keen on the _receiving_ gifts ordeal than the _giving_ gifts situation,” Perry answered to Carla’s previous question.

“Why, because for once you actually have to dig deep down in your heart to come up with a gift for another human being?” the nurse responded, her feisty spirit returning from the emotional hit of the squirrel.

“You know me so well.”

Carla rolled her eyes.

“Well, will you just hurry up and go give J.D. his gift? I’m sure he’s practically bouncing off the walls right now. He was in the break room last I saw him.”

It had definitely been made known to Carla that Perry had ended up drawing J.D.’s name based on the older doctor’s constant groaning anytime the subject of the hospital’s Secret Santa was brought up. Plus, Perry kept saying things like “I have absolutely no clue what to get the little bastard.” So that was a dead giveaway.

But Perry had finally found a gift for said little bastard — or, more like thought up the gift from his brain.

He had finally decided to go with a gift that so obviously showed off his feelings towards that ridiculous man-child; it was so obvious that if J.D. wasn’t able to figure out Perry had a crush on him, it would show that J.D. was either colossally stupid or horribly brain damaged. Or both, who knew.

“Fine, fine, I’ll go give my damn gift to Newbie,” Perry snapped, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

“Thank you,” Carla responded. “He’s been bugging me about what he’s going to get everyday since I started the Secret Santa.”

“Well, depending on how my present goes, I’m sure he’ll continue making sure you never hear the end of it.”

Carla gave him in odd look, not quite sure what he meant, but Perry had already turned sharply on his heels to march down the hallway towards the break room.

Perry honestly had no clue how his little present would work out; if J.D. didn’t like it, _that_ could end up being a huge mess. But, knowing J.D. (the massive girl), he’d probably love it, and then Perry would be the one never hearing the end of it, but all for an entirely different reason than Carla.

Finally, Perry reached the entrance to the break room.

Before stepping in, he took a large breath.

Here went everything.

As soon as Perry stormed in, he spotted J.D. sitting on the couch, entranced in whatever Christmas special was playing on the TV. But his head sharply turned towards Perry as soon as he walked in, his eyes lighting up.

“Hey, Dr. Cox!” he greeted.

“Close your eyes, Donner.”

Instead of complying, J.D. just furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, his head tilting slightly.

“Why?”

Perry huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Because I’m giving you your present. Now close ‘em.”

Perry could see J.D.’s eyes light up in joy as if someone had flicked a light switch on in his brain. He also wore a smile so large Perry swore it stretched from ear to ear.

When J.D.’s eyelids shut to hide his twinkling eyes, Perry gently approached him.

“So what did you get me?” J.D. asked, excitedly wriggling around in his seat like a kid on Christmas morning.

“For God’s sake, Dasher, you’re about to find out.”

Eyes still pressed shut, J.D. looked about ready to ask a question again, but he was quickly cut off.

Perry leaned forwards, cupped J.D’s cheek with a hand, and firmly pressed his lips against the younger doctor’s.

At first, Perry could feel J.D. stiffen slightly beneath his touch, but he soon practically melted into the kiss, throwing his arms around Perry’s waist and pulling them both closer to each other. Perry gently planted his other hand on J.D.’s knee in the process.

The kiss ended up lasting for a while, and when they both finally had to draw back for air, J.D.’s face was completely flushed; his chest was rising and falling at a quicker pace, and his pupils were blown wide. 

“You’re... you’re an excellent gift-giver,” he panted, eyeing Perry with both surprise and affection.

Perry smirked.

“Damn right I am, Rudolph.”

J.D. let out a laugh, which was a delightful sound to Perry’s ears, and pulled Perry in for another kiss.

When they both drew back again, they rested their foreheads together.

“Merry Christmas, Dr. Cox,” J.D. grinned.

Perry mirrored J.D.’s grin.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Newbie.”

As much as Perry hated Christmas, he had to admit that this one really wasn’t all that bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays, everyone! And to those who celebrate, Merry Christmas Eve!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated.


End file.
